P1000 Why do I need a second battery?

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fsk1290

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There are a million threads about installing a second battery. As a newbie I'm asking why are you installing one?? So you can run lights, radio, winch without engine on?? I installed a 700w sound bar and sure it would be nice to listen to music without the engine on. So how long will my stock battery last?? So now I gotta install a battery??
 
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JenElio

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I'm no expert but from what I've gathered, the DCT needs a certain steady voltage to function 100%. If for what ever reason voltage drops its no bueno for it 🤷‍♂️
 
JenElio

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And for things like you mentioned, running accessories while engine off, etc. If you isolate both batteries then you can always count on one of them to be charged when you need to crank it over again. No "dead in the in the water" scenario
 
Vikes79

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It’s more to protect the main electrical system than any thing else.

My second batt system is setup for key on only. My source of tunes is a Bluetooth bottle speaker and my phone.

my isolator protects the main battery from overdrawing and causing the funny electrical gremlins that pop up when the voltage drops.
 
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fsk1290

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And for things like you mentioned, running accessories while engine off, etc. If you isolate both batteries then you can always count on one of them to be charged when you need to crank it over again. No "dead in the in the water" scenario

That makes sense. I wonder how long I can run my sound bar before it drains it..... I knew I should have gotten an electrical engineer degree instead of structural. LOL
 
bigshoe

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I ran my sound bar last weekend for 5 hours. my small radio broke so I ran it while I put a water pump in a dirty max, no problems. its on a switch by itself that was the only thing running.
 
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bigshoe

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But I wouldn't do that out in the woods or away from a jump box. Was getting my a** kicked by a 99 cent o ring the radio running was the least of my problems.
 
Smitty335

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I do know how much it weighs............ but not how much power it draws from my 700w sound system. LOL
HA! My oldest son is a mechanical engineer, I give him crap all the time! Reminds me of a song, Old Family Tradition, Hank Williams. He worked for our small plumbing company for a couple years and saw the mechanical engineering from that side and listened to me gripe about them. After going through school, one day he said to me, Dad you know more about engineering than all my professors put together, I just laughed and said 44 years in the field is equal to 10 mechanical degrees. He has a leg up, he went back as a nontraditional student, he had been in the field for a few years, he gave his professors and wet nosed fellow students hell, he won. He now works for Square D.
 
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fsk1290

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HA! My oldest son is a mechanical engineer, I give him crap all the time! Reminds me of a song, Old Family Tradition, Hank Williams. He worked for our small plumbing company for a couple years and saw the mechanical engineering from that side and listened to me gripe about them. After going through school, one day he said to me, Dad you know more about engineering than all my professors put together, I just laughed and said 44 years in the field is equal to 10 mechanical degrees. He has a leg up, he went back as a nontraditional student, he had been in the field for a few years, he gave his professors and wet nosed fellow students hell, he won. He now works for Square D.

I've met my share of fresh out of school "engineers" and they don't know half the stuff I know. That's because I've been "in the field" since 1991. I know what works and what doesn't work. Just cuz you got a degree on the wall doesn't mean jack s***ski
 
Smitty335

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I've met my share of fresh out of school "engineers" and they don't know half the stuff I know. That's because I've been "in the field" since 1991. I know what works and what doesn't work. Just cuz you got a degree on the wall doesn't mean jack s***ski
Try since 1974?
 
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sharp

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There are a million threads about installing a second battery. As a newbie I'm asking why are you installing one?? So you can run lights, radio, winch without engine on?? I installed a 700w sound bar and sure it would be nice to listen to music without the engine on. So how long will my stock battery last?? So now I gotta install a battery??
Short answer. All the accessories will be connected to the second battery(not a cheap one) so you can enjoy music, lights etc. there is already a place under the hood for a second battery. The main battery is only for starting to rig. The isolator between the two will allow the second battery to charge after the starting battery is full.
 
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Pilotadam

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So the short answer, taking a lot of assumptions into account (and we all know what that means). Your stock battery should be a 12AH (amp Hour) battery. So lets so you listen to your 700W sound bar at a 1/4 volume. That would mean you are using 175watt/12V= 14.5Amp. So your battery would last a little less than an hour (12AH/14.5amp= 0.8hours) It really depends on Temp and how many watts your stereo is actually pulling when you are listing to it but this give you a rough idea.
But I am just a crappy Mechanical Engineer that has been in the field for 20years. (and have forgotten almost everything learned in school).

For my 2nd battery install in my P1k5 to prevent the DCT issue and to ensure when I am doing long winch pulls I do not drain my primary battery. I leaned that the hard way in my old Teryx. Did a lot of winching in the mountains one ride and then shut the machine off and it would not restart because I drained the battery too much. This time around I installed a Blue Top Optima battery under the drivers seat with a 50AH capacity, and it was just a few dollars more than a good AGM that would fit under the hood, but I got about 4 times the capacity.
 
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fsk1290

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So the short answer, taking a lot of assumptions into account (and we all know what that means). Your stock battery should be a 12AH (amp Hour) battery. So lets so you listen to your 700W sound bar at a 1/4 volume. That would mean you are using 175watt/12V= 14.5Amp. So your battery would last a little less than an hour (12AH/14.5amp= 0.8hours) It really depends on Temp and how many watts your stereo is actually pulling when you are listing to it but this give you a rough idea.
But I am just a crappy Mechanical Engineer that has been in the field for 20years. (and have forgotten almost everything learned in school).

For my 2nd battery install in my P1k5 to prevent the DCT issue and to ensure when I am doing long winch pulls I do not drain my primary battery. I leaned that the hard way in my old Teryx. Did a lot of winching in the mountains one ride and then shut the machine off and it would not restart because I drained the battery too much. This time around I installed a Blue Top Optima battery under the drivers seat with a 50AH capacity, and it was just a few dollars more than a good AGM that would fit under the hood, but I got about 4 times the capacity.

Great info sir. Thank you so much. Looks like I'll be shopping for a Blue Top myself. I hate electrical work (bad childhood memories...LOL) so I'll have to find somebody to do that for me.
 
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